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French and Indian War
England waged an expensive war against the French and Native Americans and struck up a lot of war debt. -
Navigation Acts
After the War England needed money to pay off its debts, and to pay for it they taxed their colonist in America. They imposed the Navigation Acts. These Acts were intended to restrict foreign trade and increase The colonist's dependence on England. -
Stamp Acts
The Stamp Act was a tax on all official documents and papers. It required documents to have an official stamp, which was bought from an English Representative -
Quartering Act
Originally the Mutiny Act, the Quartering Act required colonists to allow British Soldiers in their homes and required the colonists to feed and clothe them. -
Townshend Acts
Named after the British treasurer the Townshend Acts were enforced on imported goods like Glass, Oil, and Tea. -
Boston Massacre
A mob surrounds A band of British soldiers, who have orders not to fire on the crowd, It's unclear exactly why the soldier fired into the crowd, but it led the crowd to fight back which drove the rest of the soldiers to fire. 5 were killed and 6 were injured. -
Intolerable Acts
These Acts were meant to Punish the Colonists for the Boston Tea Party. Mainly focused on punishing Massachusets; they closed the Boston Harbor, Revoked the Charter (which placed the colony directly under British rule), and the Admin. of Justice act was revoked (caused any lawbreakers to be shipped back to England for a trial) -
The Battle of Lexington and Concord
British soldiers Marched towards Concord to seize weapons and Ammunition. When they reached Lexington they met 70 Minutemen. One shot was fired and a fight broke out. Otherwise known as the Shot Heard round the World -
Olive Branch Petition
This was a last-ditch effort to let the king fix his ways. The 12 Colonies sent a petition to the king. They pointed out the benefits of the colonies, stated that Jealous outside countries envied and plotted against them, said they wanted to avoid further blood. -
Common sense
A pamphlet written by Thomas Paine to the Colonists. He explained that it was common sense for the Colonies to fight not just against taxation, but for freedom -
Declaration of Independence
On June 11th a committee of 5 was chosen to write a letter to King George III to Declare independence from the King's Rule.
The 5 in charge:
Thomas Jefferson
Ben Franklin
John Adams
Roger Sherman
Robert R. Livingston
It was published and distributed on July 4th -
Articles of Confederation
After the newly Independent Colonists broke ties with England they needed a new government. Obviously, A new all-powerful leader was out of the question, so they decided to spread out power among the states with a very limited congress. Unfortunately, the Articles built a very weak government that would have almost no control and no money. -
Shay's Rebellion
Daniel Shay was a war hero who helped gain independence from Britain. When he arrived home to his Farm he had a bunch of Tax and no Income. He and other soldiers expecting money from the government were sorely disappointed. Many farms were repossessed, which naturally upset the Farmers who decided to march on Congress and overthrow the government. -
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Constitutional convention
The government was weak. If the States were going to stay one country the government needed to change. The Convention had been planned a year prior. It needed to be accessible to the delegates but also highly confidential. the Plan was to fix the Articles of Confederation, but the result was a several-month-long convention and a brand new Government outlined by the Constitution.